Namibia Says Congo Talks Clear Path To Cease-Fire
09:59 a.m. Jan 18, 1999 Eastern
WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) - Leaders of African countries fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have agreed to sign a cease-fire to end a five-month civil war, Namibian President Sam Nujoma said Monday.
Congo's President Laurent Kabila and rebels battling his rule had agreed to sign, although on the basis they would ink separate documents, said Nujoma, adding that regional leaders would now be summoned to the Zambian capital of Lusaka for the ceremony.
''The parties have agreed to sign a cease-fire. We also discussed security concerns of the DRC (and) the deployment of a peacekeeping force that will be created by the OAU (Organization of African Unity) and United Nations,'' Nujoma told reporters.
He was speaking after talks between the leaders of Rwanda and Uganda, which have backed a Tutsi-led rebellion against the Kinshasa government, and Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, whose troops and hardware are helping keep Kabila in power.
Nujoma said foreign troops would remain on Congo soil until a peacekeeping force was in place, adding that Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, as summit host, would now request the United Nations Security Council pass the necessary U.N. resolution.
Neither the DRC nor members of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) were invited to Windhoek. The rebellion, which began on August 2, has drawn in troops from at least six African nations and threatened the stability of the entire region.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
